CHARLOTTESVILLE, VA (CVILLE RIGHT NOW) – Tony Elliott said he’s never met Michael Vick, aside from possibly a quick post-game handshake after the Gator Bowl on New Year’s Day in 2001. But Elliott’s wife? She met Vick in an airport. Even got her photo taken with him.

“With the staff, and I know for me, like, I mean, come on, this is Michael Vick,” Elliott said this week as his Cavaliers prepared to host Vick’s Norfolk State team. “Like, that’s a household name.”

For two years, Vick terrorized the college football world with his dual-quarterbacking skills. Virginia was no exception, losing twice to Vick’s Virginia Tech team, by a combined count of 73-28.

Friday night, Vick – in his second season at Norfolk State – will lead his Spartans into Scott Stadium to face No. 25 UVA. This time, he’ll be a decided underdog. It’s a far cry from his two years with the Hokies, when he led the program to 20 wins and a spot in the national championship game after the 1999 season.

“He was special. And he transformed the game,” Elliott said. “When you start talking about dual threat quarterbacks I mean, he’s the prototype, right? And then, you know what? He did it as a lefty. He just proved everybody wrong. And he could beat you from the pocket. And then when he took off and run, there wasn’t anybody better in a league with the ball in their hands. And he made those freakish, once in a generation type of plays. And so that’s who Michael Vick is to me. And man, I’m just excited to have a chance to meet him.”

Elliott also praised the way Vick emerged on the other side of the dog-fighting scandal that derailed his NFL career in 2007. He was suspended for two years, spending 21 months in federal prison. In 2009, he returned to pro football and, in 2010, earned his fourth Pro Bowl appearance.

“I got a tremendous amount of respect for who he is as a person after all that he’s been through, and then the impact that he’s now making,” Elliott said. “And that’s what he probably may not get as much credit for. People are going to remember him for all of the great plays, but what he’s done with his life, I mean, it’s very commendable. He’s had to learn through some adversity, and now he has an unbelievable platform. And you can see it in the way that his guys play.”

Vick called Friday’s matchup against a team he cheered for as a kid and saw his cousin, Aaron Brooks, star for a “full-circle moment.”

“Any time I envision UVA or picture UVA, I think about when I was recruited. I think about the great players who played there,” Vick said this week. “To be able to go up against them and play against them, I know the caliber of football they are capable of playing. They’ve always been well coached. They’ve always had talent. You gotta go in there and earn everything. And it’s a really cool environment to play in. So, I want our players to embrace that and feel that. I’m certainly going to soak it all on the opposing side team.”

Vick recalled playing against UVA his freshman year, a 31-7 Tech victory that saw Vick pass for 222 yards and a touchdown on an injured ankle.

“I did it against a team I grew up idolizing,” Vick said.

Elliott’s only meeting going into Friday night’s game came after the Hokies’ 41-20 romp over Clemson in the Gator Bowl, Vick’s final collegiate outing. That day, Vick threw for 205 yards and a touchdown and ran for another score. Elliott isn’t even sure if he actually shook Vick’s hand in that moment.

“I was a young guy. I wasn’t going up to Michael Vick,” Elliott said. “And they just kicked our butt, too.”

Friday night, when Elliott and Vick come together near midfield after the game, Elliott’s hoping he and his Cavaliers will be celebrating a victory.